Germany basks in record April heat as spring temperatures soar

DPA
·1 min read
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An aerial view shows cyclists riding along a road near Ohlsbach, on which two cars can be seen. According to provisional figures, there has been a new nationwide heat record for the first ten days of April since weather records began: Yesterday, Saturday, 30.1 degrees were measured in Ohlsbach in the Rhine Valley, according to a spokesperson for the German Weather Service. Philipp von Ditfurth/dpa

The onset of summer-like weather in Germany has never come so early in the year, preliminary data showed on Sunday, after much of the country basked in warm temperatures at the weekend.

The German Weather Service (DWD) said that in the south-western border town of Ohlsbach, near the French city of Strasbourg, a temperature of 30.1 degrees Celsius was measured on Saturday.

DWD considers 30 degrees the threshold for a "hot" weather.

Never since the beginning of systematic weather recording has there probably been a hot day in Germany as early in the year as on Saturday, the agency said.

It was almost as warm, but just below the 30 degree mark, in the south-western cities of Freiburg (29.8 degrees) and Rheinfelden (29.6 degrees) on Saturday.

The figures are preliminary and will be analysed again in the coming days, DWD said.

The previous high for early April was in 2011, when a temperature of 27.7 degrees was recorded.

A high-altitude trough over Western Europe in conjunction with a strong storm depression near Ireland is responsible for the warm spring weather in Central Europe, forecasters said.